A surprise winner at the Katha

One of the biggest upsets during the last Katha Awards happened in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category. When presenter Jamie Rivera opened the envelope, it read: Jim San Juan for the song Dagat. San Juan bested the likes of Rico Puno, Rannie Raymundo and Dingdong Avanzado, all veteran musical artists.

The venue resonated with ooohs and aahs and there was one common question from everyone who never heard of Jim – "Who is he?"

Jim San Juan is a Psychology graduate of the University of the Philippines who happens to like music. He holds a day job as an executive at a multinational company but makes time for his musical passion.

"I never really planned on a singing career," he says. "All I want is to sing, share my gift of voice which is one of God’s priceless gifts to me. That win at the Katha was a huge blessing, a wonderful surprise and a big push for all the ‘virtual unknowns’ in the music industry."

San Juan believes there are so many talented unknowns so deserving of a good break. "The major problem is, the mainstream music business is so particular about looks and packaging and sad as it is, the powers-that-be insist that exteriors are more important than talent."

That’s why he thinks his surprise win in Katha has in some way inspired a lot of struggling talents to continue to hold on and hope. "For an unknown singer like me and a non-commercial song like Dagat to win simply means there are still groups in the music industry which remain objective and fair."

Dagat is one of the 10 tracks in San Juan’s album, composed by Gary Granada with guitar tracks by Pido. The song was meant to promote peace and camaraderie among various Filipino communities in Munich, Germany where San Juan had the privilege of working for years. The album, although endorsed by the Philippine Consulate, was not commercially available because there was no one to distribute it there.

When life took a sudden turn and San Juan found himself back in Manila, he launched the album in a fund-raising concert billed Crossing Over at the Greenhills Christian Fellowship in Ortigas. Nothing much happened until the CD got into the hands of Katha member Jonathan Manalo, who recommended the album for screening. The rest is history.

Going through his profile, one can easily conclude that San Juan is securely ensconced in his faith. He started honing his musical gift with a church-based choir and moved on to become a member of the highly-touted Papuri Music Ministry group where he developed close friendships with people who motivated him to do his album.

Some of these friends have also become respected names in the music industry who figure prominently during songwriting competitions: Andrei Dionisio, Dodgie Simon, Jungee Marcelo, Soc Villanueva, Arnel de Pano, and Robert More.

San Juan was also a member of an all-male singing group called Seven, which had among its members Lloyd Umali (before he had his body adorned with all those tattoos), Edward Granadosin (of Three of a Kind), and Reuben Laurente (now with The CompanY).

Even while he is still elated over his triumph, Jim San Juan remains a realist, although he continues to believe his music will one day bring him to places he has never imagined he will be.

"God is good. He is the true Source of Music. I am but an instrument. I will continue to sing and share my music. And if only I can touch and move and inspire, then I’ll know I have served my purpose."